How many words should I write per day as an author?

The words you write per day for your book doesn’t really matter unless you have a deadline you have to meet, and even then it can vary.

The questions you need to be asking yourself are:

• How many words can I write per day?
• How many words am I willing to write per day?
• How many words do I get to write per day?

Notice in that last question I say, ‘get to’ rather than ‘have to’ because this is important for your mindset.

You see, depending on how quickly you type now, will depend on how many words per hour you can currently fit into a day. If you are a one finger typist then your word count will obviously be very different to those who can touch type.

The second question is all about your desire to write and how much you want to write. If you are prepared to schedule time for your writing in place of socialising, relaxing or procrastinating, then you will be able to fit more words into the day. All basic common sense, but this still needs pointing out. You could also enrol in a touch typing class to increase your speed.

The third question raises the distinction between how many words you ‘get to’ write as opposed to ‘have to’ write. When you place obligation onto something, the energy shifts and it feels like a burden. This is one of the reasons many authors who write under deadline for a publication or a major publishing house feel pressurised. They have ‘obligation’ rather than ‘choice’ energy operating.

This may sound a bit ‘woo woo’ but think back to a time when you ‘had to’ do something. Now think about something you were choosing to do. Different energy levels, right?

So, how many words do you have to write per day?

Figure out how far away the deadline is in days. Then look at the key points you need to raise. Are they going to be roughly around 200 words or 500 words per subject? Or perhaps these key points are going to be covered in an entire chapter, so around 2000 to 2500 words.

You know what you are writing about, and you know your allotted time per day. You also know when your deadline is, whether that is a self imposed deadline or whether that is one given to you by the organisation you are writing for.

Only you can tell how many words per day you have to write, so get writing – and enjoy the process!

And if you need more guidance, invest in the Mastering The Art of Book Writing module in my 7 Week Author Course – it even has a progress tracker for you to measure your progress in typing speed and achievement!